The project is an examination of the conditions that facilitate the election of blacks to urban public office, and the impact that black elected officials have on urban expenditures. The data base is 264 U.S. cities of 25,000 or more population and 10 percent or more black population. Multiple regression is used to examine the impact of a variety of measures of black resources, white population characteristics, federal poverty inflow, and political characteristics of the city on the success of blacks in being elected to the mayor's office and the city council. A longitudinal design is used to examine the impact of these black officials on a variety of city expenditures, including social welfare (health, housing, welfare and education), amenties (parks and libraries), physical facilities (streets and highways, sewage, sanitation, hospitals) and protective services (police and fire).